Picnic at Hanging Rock

Picnic at Hanging Rock
By Joan Lindsay, adapted by Tom Wright. Darlington Theatre Players. Directed by Rob Whitehead. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount, WA. 1-16 March, 2019

If you are looking for muslin dresses and pan pipes, this is not the Picnic at Hanging Rock for you. But, if you would like to see some creative story-telling, dynamic use of sets and strong narration, you will love Darlington Theatre Players’ Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Tom Wright’s interesting interpretation of Joan Lindsay’s novel, written for five actresses who play all of the roles, was most notably performed by Black Swan in the Heath Ledger Theatre. Marloo Theatre’s version possibly resonates more strongly, with the narrative format more accessible in the more intimate venue.

Rob Whitehead and Owen Davis’ set design is stunning, featuring rock walls, that are imposing and dare I say, unnerving. The centrepiece is a huge gold frame, used for various purposes - a lovely piece of design. The rock, in this production,becomes a character in its own right. Costumes, designed by Marjorie DeCaux, are sepia (or rock) toned, and are lovely to look at. Shelly Miller’s lighting design makes strong, dramatic choices, while Rob Whitehead and Guy Jackson have created an organic sound design.

In Act One a quintet of school girls work as an ensemble to tell the story of an earlier group of school girls. They pass characters between each other and work well as a team, as they tell of the disappearance of three girls and their teacher at Hanging Rock. In the second act the format switches, as each performer takes on a particular role in more depth, with Brittany Isaia capturing the despair of the returned Irma, Elizabeth Offer negotiating the fall from grace of Mrs Appleyard, Lillian Valverde beautifully embodying the frail and crumbling Sara, Rachel Vonk strong as coachman Albert and Suzy June Wakeling lovely as awkward Michael Fitzhubert.

A thoughtful and well polished production of an Australian classic.

Kimberley Shaw

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.